the buzz log

"New Moon" footage arises, a (almost) huggable car hits the road, politicians squabble more than usual, and mixed martial arts fans get angry.... From a busy seven days, take a look at the latest in the Buzz Week in Review.

Adorable Car or iPod Accessory?
A car so cute, people would pinch its cheeks if it had any. Chrysler may be hurtling towards salvation or oblivion, but the automaker pushed out the Peapod in time for Earth Day. The itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, electric four-seater is made from recycled materials, measures 56.5 by 70.5 inches, and goes about 25 mph. The big selling point may be its iPod/iPhone compatibility: Dock the Apple product to start up the engine and navigate. The car should hit lots this fall with a $12,500 sticker price, but let's talk to the manager first.

Moonlight Madness
About the only thing that could inflate "Twilight" hysteria anymore would be to have Susan Boyle sing in a film. But while we pondered such possibilities, the Buzz went into a froth over fresh news over "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (due out Nov. 20). That included latest pics of the buffed-up, vampire-fighting Wolf Pack (whose regimen may be the new "300" workout for actors) and a visit to the set. And the cup truly runneth over: "30 Days of Night" director David Slade takes the helm of the third film, set for release on June 30, 2010.

Mixed Martial Reviews
Middleweight Anderson Silva scored his ninth consecutive victory in the Octagon, but the UFC first instead left spectators booing about the lackluster dominance over loser Thales Leites. Even UFC president Dana White said he was "embarrassed." Fellow fighter Chuck "Iceman" Lidell blamed a lame opponent, but the masses had paid $4.9 million for blood—or at least a good knockout. Silva so far remains unrepentant about his "technical" professionalism, but the fix could be in to send Silva to Canada and fight champ Georges St. Pierre. Or just to exile.

Political Backtalk
Exchanges among world leaders turned particularly testy this week, starting with former veep Dick Cheney when he defended interrogations outlined in newly released CIA memos. In Geneva, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments about Israel prompted diplomats to walk out of a U.N. conference against racism. Then, Fidel Castro published an essay declaring President Barack Obama had "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's statements at the Summit of the Americas. All this, of course, engendered more backtalk amongst parties involved, but perhaps the most cutting came from maverick-in-training Meghan McCain, who told Cheney to "go away." At least she didn't call him creepy.

Also buzzing this week...

• The World Digital Library launched Tuesday, and the culture's free...
• Rosetta Stone closed its IPO, priced at $18 and ending at $25 on day one...
• Madlyn Primoff, the exasperated mom who made her bickering kids get out of the car, pled not guilty to child endangerment.

 

Filed under: Sports, Movies, Politics, Autos, UFC, Recaps, Week in Review, Barack Obama, Wrap Up

Interest in the UFC peaked this weekend thanks to a heavily-hyped fight card. The mixed-martial arts circuit was on the receiving end of blanket coverage from the mainstream media and sports outlets that had previously ignored them. Did the big buildup pay off in Buzz?

The answer is a bone-rattling yes. Searches on the Ultimate Fighting Championship scaled new heights thanks to massive interest in UFC 71. The octagon shaped ring spawned searches running the gamut from "ufc 71 weigh ins" to "ufc 71 post fight." Before the first punch was thrown, searches on "ufc 71 odds," "ufc 71 pay per view," and "ufc 71 fight card" grappled with Buzz.

The card's main event was a battle for the light-heavyweight belt between title holder Chuck Liddell and challenger Quinton Jackson. Liddell entered the ring buffeted by unprecedented buzz for a UFC fighter, with related searches on "chuck liddell pics," "iceman chuck liddell," and "chuck liddell highlights" all smashing the Search box.

However, Liddell was floored in the first round of the bout by his underdog opponent. That shocking knockout set off a flurry of queries on Jackson, who goes by the cuddly nickname "Rampage." Searches on the new champ soared 1,200% after he put the Iceman in a deep freeze. Related searches on "ufc rampage jackson," "liddell jackson fight video," and "quinton jackson video."

On the Web, the UFC experienced a bit of a backlash to its mounting hype, but in the Buzz there's truly no contest. The sport has been a mainstay in Search for years now and has knocked boxing flat on the canvas as evidenced by this graph of searches over the past two months...

Filed under: Sports, UFC

Buzz can always tell when people are up for a little octagon action. The long-awaited rematch between Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell and Tito (Huntington Beach Bad Boy) in UFC 66 sparked buzz long before the fight began. Over the past week, searches on "ufc 66" rocketed up 7,163%, with "ufc.com" and "ufc" not far behind. Related searches on the night of fighting turned up: "results of ufc 66," "ufc 66 fight card," "ufc 66 highlights," and "ufc 66 liddell vs ortiz."

The main event duo battled each other, but came close in Buzz. Queries on "tito ortiz" were up 524%, while lookups on "chuck liddell" rose 559%. But a third round TKO left The Iceman triumphant and sent the Bad Boy packing. We hear his new girlfriend, Jenna Jameson, is nursing his wounds. Other winners on the fight card were: Andrei Arlovski, Thiago Alves, Michael Bisping, Gabriel Gonzaga, Keith Jardine, Jason MacDonald, Yushin Okami, and Christian Wellisch.

The UFC also announced a recent acquisition: Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic, from the Pride circuit. He'll make his UFC debut in UFC 67. So far, Cro Cop hasn't been very buzzy, but we'll see if that changes as the fight nears.

Filed under: Sports, UFC